(Zootopia) Epizootic
by TheOAOBB
Summary: The city of Zootopia continues on 2 months after the Night Howler Case, and Nick has joined the police force as Judy's partner. It's just like any other day, when the whole city gets word of a fast and deadly epidemic on it's way to Zootopia! As the city falls into panic, the government evacuates all mammals. It's up to the Police force to clean up what remains of Zootopia!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The deep sound of rolling thunder and the hard smacks of rain against Nicks bedroom window had just begun. Nick woke up to a particularity loud boom, coming from the dark cloud that hung over the massive city of Zootopia. He laid down on the bed, head and muzzle engulfed by his pillow as he glared up at his alarm clock which had failed to go off. Luckily, the natural alarm had taken its place. It had been two months since the night howler case and nick and Judy were now partners. They were also closer than everyone thought they were, because there's no way both of them would want everyone knowing that a bunny and a fox are in a relationship.

The clock read 5:30 in big red numbers. It was time for nick to get up and go to work. He struggled to get up, first putting both paws on his bed and rotating himself onto his back. He then proceeded to remove the blankets off of his warm furry body, which became cold as soon as he did. Nick put his paws on his arms, rubbing them up and down to create some heat. Resisting the urge to climb back under his blanket and be all cozy and warm. He put his hind paws on the cold hardwood floor that covered most of the floors in his apartment. He suddenly realized how dark the room was, with the exception of the bright flashes of lightning that came every second, or so it seemed to nick. He slowly stood up and navigated through his dark room over to his door with his paws still on his arms, "Damn, why is it so cold?" he softly said to himself. He gritted his teeth as he used one of his paws to open the door to his bedroom.

He walked out into the hallway that connected his living room, bedroom and bathroom and walked into the adjacent room, which was the bathroom. He walked into the dark room, his paw feeling the wall for the light switch. he felt it and flicked it on, instantly giving the room a dull flickering light. The flicker gave nick a slight headache. He put up a paw and squinted as the flicker went away but the room got brighter. His eyes adjusted to the luminosity as he started to walk towards the small shower in the corner of his bathroom. He turned a nob and cold water started to spray out of the shower head. While he waited for the water to heat up, he took off his underwear and looked at himself in the slowly fogging mirror. He noticed that his fur was all matted and scruffy, and that he looked no better than a homeless animal. Nick gave the mirror a smirk and said "Much better" before turning around and facing the hot shower that was behind him.

He stepped into the hot flowing water, his body slowly adjusting from really cold to really hot. He leaned backwards letting the water surround him, as he put his entire head into the stream. The warm water flowed down his scruffy body, flattening out any spots that were sticking up. He smiled at the sensation, even though he had felt it every day, it didn't fail to please him. After a short, relaxing shower, Nick stepped out with the water still flowing. The entire room was filled with steam and the mirror no longer had its reflection. Nick grabbed the towel that was on a hanger beside the shower. He started to dry his fur off with the mangy towel, that didn't do very well but it was enough. Even though he loved to be dried off in the steam filled room, he knew that if he didnt turn off the shower his landlord would drain his wallet to pay for the water. He faced the shower once again and twisted the knob the opposite direction, restricting the flow with a rusty squeak. He turned around and walked towards the door, the wet tile flooring under his paws. He opened the door to immediately be greeted by the cold air that filled the rest of his house. He ran through into the hallway and into his room, desperate to get some clothes on.

In his room, he saw a mess of discarded clothes on his floor and paper littered all over his desk. He ignored the mess and walked straight to his closet. He picked out a clean police uniform and proceeded to put it on, piece by piece. He never would have thought these are the clothes he would be wearing one day but here he is, a police officer for the ZPD. He finished putting the outfit on and walked into his bathroom once again, looking at himself in the mirror. He thought that he looked pretty good in uniform but he wasn't sure if anyone else thought the same. He recited, "Sly fox" he said pointing at himself "Dumb bunny" he said again with a smirk pointing at the mirror in front of him. Leaving the bathroom he walked into the living room with an open kitchen connected to it. He walked over to the kitchen and made himself a cup of black coffee. He sat down at the small table in his living room, about to take his first sip of coffee when a bright flash of lightning came through his window, making him jump. He glared at the rain, still pounding on his window. He went in for another sip when his phone in his room started to ring and buzz violently. "What is it now?!" He said loudly, as if the phone could hear him. He put down the cup on his coffee table and started walking towards his room.

He got to the bright phone on his bedside table in his room. He was greeted by the sweet face of his partner, Judy Hopps. He picked up his phone looking at the wallpaper he had set of her whenever she called. He gave out a soft smile and answered the call.

"Carrots?" Nick said worried. She had never called him this early

"Nick" Judy said in a serious tone

"What is it carrots? You never call me this early?"

"Have you seen the news?" She replied, sending nick into a curious, worried mix of emotions.

"No, What is it?" Nick questioned

"I think you better see it for yourself"

Nick ran over to his living room again, completely ignoring the coffee he was originally dying to drink. The news channel was number 6. Nick grabbed the remote and fumbled around a bit, desperate to find out what had a strong bunny like Judy upset.

"Nick? You still there?" Judy asked worriedly

"Yeah" Nick said pressing the number 6 on his remote "Why would I not be"

"Just..." Judy stopped

"Judy are you ok?" Nick said, getting increasingly worried

"No, i'm not" Judy said.

"Jud..." The news host started to speak, cutting nick off. He was to distracted to finish his sentence.

"We have been informed that an epidemic, unlike anything we have ever seen before has started to ravage through cities around the globe" The Russian snow leopard on Nick screen started. "We currently have no reports of the disease inside of zootopia, but we have no way of stopping it from getting here" Nick stood there, staring at the graphic pictures of the infected. An elephant, deer, wolves, and then it showed a picture of a female bunny, with bloodshot eyes and a dead limp body. Nicks heart stopped at the thought of Judy ending up like that.

"Judy?" Nick checked if she was still there

"Nick, its really bad and i'm scared to death" Judy said in a very worried tone, with tears almost in her eyes.

"Listen to me carrots," Nick started "No matter how bad this is, or how bad it will become, I'm always gonna be here with you, right by your side, partner."

The host started to talk again. Judy was about to say something but was interrupted by the leopard on Nicks side of the call. The rain fell harder but that didn't break Nicks concentration

"New orders from the mayor are, all police officers should meet at the police station immediately for briefing." She said in a calm voice

"I guess we still got a job to do right carrots?"

"Yeah, i guess so" Judy said with a sniffle "Thank you Nick, Ill meet you at the station"

"Ok, stay safe Judy"

"Bye" Judy hung up

Nick stood by his coffee table, looking down at the coffee he had made. He turned away, he didn't need caffeine now, he was running on adrenaline. He opened the locked door to his apartment and walked into the hallway, locking the door behind him. Another bright flash of lightning came through the hall window, followed by a deep roar of thunder. The ominous hallway made nick nervous, he pulled at his collar, realizing how tight it felt on his neck, now that things were more serious than they have ever been. He stepped into the small elevator at the end of the long hall. The doors closed as he pressed the ground floor button. He waited in the elevator, alone. He just wished that Judy was there to comfort him and to give him some company at a time like this. He realized that he had never enjoyed her presence this much before. Nick accidentally blushed just thinking about her beautiful eyes and her soft fur and... "Snap out of it!" Nick said to himself loudly. A high pitched ding noise indicated that he was at his floor. He walked out into the boring lobby, noticing that it was completely empty. Nick found it strange but didn't pay to much attention to it.

Nick opened the glass door that made the entrance to his shifty looking apartment building. He walked out into the hard rain, as it pelted his head. "Ow, ow, ow!" He said loudly as he started his sprint towards his fox sized car that sat in the parking lot, stepping in multiple puddles along the way. He flung the door to his car wide open in a desperate attempt to get inside as fast as possible. The car was dry and some what clean, at least to nick. He climbed in the car on the drivers side and put his keys in the ignition, feeling the vehicle roar to life. The rain smashed against the car windows and roof, with unrelenting force, which slightly worried nick as he pulled out of his spot in the parking lot and drove onto the road. Traffic wasn't to bad either so it didn't take him long to wonder where everyone had gone, since this is normally when people started to leave there homes. Once again he ignored the absence of animals in his area and drove to the police station freely.

He arrived at the police station, close to soaking wet because of the run he had made to get inside. The glass sliding doors in the entrance to the building were massive compared to him, but they did there job. He looked through crowds of animals, hoping to get a glance of Judy. Luckily, There she was, talking to Clawhauser. A wash of relief came over Nick as he was so happy to see her still alive. He walked over to the desk, wearing his usual smirk, attempting to hide the worries he had.

"Judy!" Nick called

"Nick!" Judy turned around to see the handsome red fox she had been dying to see "I'm so glad to see you!"

Judy ran towards nick and slammed into him giving him a massive hug. Nick was supersized and held his hands away from her at first. He eventually embraced the hug and put his furry arms around her. They pulled away and saw a few animals looking at them, but then ignoring the friendly embrace and thinking nothing of it, since there was a massive epidemic on the move. Judy blushed when she looked back and saw Clawhauser obsessing over the hug.

"Don't mind him" Nick said crouching so he could be level with her. As she turned around he continued "I'm glad to see you too"

Nick and Judy walked towards the briefing room where chief Bogo would be waiting to nag them. When they opened the door chief Bogo said nothing. Nick looked at Judy and Judy looked back at Nick, both were confused because they knew that they were late.

"Have a seat" Bogo simply said

The two took the orders and sat down in the same seat together, side by side.

"I am sure that you have already heard about the epidemic that inevitably will arrive here" He started "But we still have to enforce law and keep people safe. Is that clear"

"Yes Sir!" Everyone in the room said with minor enthusiasm. This is where Nick would usually make a small joke but he felt like everyone was a bit too serious for one.

"Now, we have reports of riots starting in downtown with all kinds of animals, herbivores, carnivores, you name it. Also we are dealing with massive amounts of looting, assault, and so on" He said seriously

"These animals are armed and dangerous, and.." he stopped. Nick had never seen him this nervous before. Nicks eyes widened, waiting to see what was holding him back.

"And we have been given permission to use lethal force" He said sadly

Every animal in the room gasped in confusion, including Nick and Judy.

"I know" He started to explain "ZPD officers are almost never allowed to carry or use fire arms but... Desperate times call for desperate measures. Now all of you, head down to the armory"

He immediately dismissed all of the animals in the room. Nick started to walk out of the room with the rest of the crowd when he felt a furry paw grab his. He had no time to react, Judy pulled him towards the front of the room where Bogo sat in a chair looking down at the two with a sigh.

"Chief Bogo?" Judy started "How are we supposed to ensure everyone's safety with armed criminals and an epidemic on the way?"

"I thought i told you to go to the armory" He said with mild force "Ill be down in a minute now go"

"Just tell me" Judy forced

Bogo gave in "Alright, The animals that are armed will fight against our authority and that means we might have to fight back, but that doesn't mean we wont give them a chance. We could lose a few officers, and more importantly, a few citizens. All we can do is try our best. I don't know why i'm telling you this, its just that i feel like you two need to survive." He paused "The full plan is to evacuate the entire city to keep the majority of the population safe if this gets out of hand, and so far, that's where its heading."

Judy gasped "leave Zootopia?"

"Its quite logical actually" Nick added "A lot of cities are probably going into anarchy, Right Bogo?"

"Correct" Bogo said softly "But you two still need to go out there and do your job." He tried to hold back the info that he held as he cringed at inner pain, but failed "This is supposed to be confidential but im telling you two because your different, and future generations could need role models like you" He let out in a loud voice

"Excuse me?" Judy asked

"Its obvious, you two love eachother" He said

"What, us? No way" Nick said nervously, taking a step away from Judy

"Alright, cut the shit Nick" Bogo said forcefully "After being a cop for so many years I've seen the dark side of the world and you two made me realize that maybe there still is hope for it, hope for change"

Nick opened his mouth to protest but Judy stopped him

"Thank you, I thought you would disapprove" Judy said

"There's not much more i can do now, I try my best to understand"

Nick suddenly pulled Judy close to his chest, feeling finally accepted by someone other than Judy. Judy didn't struggle, she enjoyed it when Nick did that and let out a soft smile.

"The evacuation will start at the south west train station" Bogo said as the two made their way towards the door "Make sure your there"

"Thank you so much" Judy said walking out into the empty lobby with Nick "Wait!" she said to Nick as she held the door to the briefing room open

"Will you be there?" she asked

Bogo replied with a soft glare that got the message across, He wont be.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Judy slowly closed the door, avoiding the stare she received had from Bogo. Judy turned around and looked at her partner

"Hes not coming" She said softly

"Well he can't just stay here? Can he?" Nick asked furiously

"I think were about to find out, he still has to give his pep-talk in the armory. Come on" she said as she walked passed Nick

"Right" Nick said, feeling stupid. He turned around and walked by her side.

The two reached the large dark hallway that led to the armory and stopped in the light coming from the lobby.

"Looks like the lights went out" Nick said

"Doesn't matter, we've still got natural light coming from the windows" She said, pointing to the small windows with shades over them at the end of the hallway.

"Well, lets open them up" Nick gave an obvious conclusion to the problem as he walked towards the dim light coming through the shades.

Nick pulled at the string and lifted up the shades to see that the thunderstorm had gotten better, and rain had almost stopped falling from the lightened cloud above them. Nick looked as far up as the glass window would let him, then he looked down at Judy and smiled.

"well at least we don't have to worry about getting struck by lightning anymore" Nick said on the bright side of things

"That has always been least of our problems Nick" Judy said, glaring at Nicks smug face.

"Fine, well now we wont get soaking wet" Nick paused "So the water wont conduct the electricity from lightning through our bodies"

"Oh shut up Nick" Judy said, cracking a smile "Lets go to the armory"

They started their walk down the still dark-ish hallway.

"Whatever, you know you love me" Nick said with a sly smirk

"Were not doing this again Nick" Judy said, half way through the hallway now

"You know you love me Judy" Nick pressured

Judy gave in "Do I? Yes I do. There, you happy?"

Nick smirked, looking straight at her "Yes, I am." He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. Judy blushed slightly at the feeling. Even though they have kissed before but this was one of the first.

"Hold up carrot's" Nick said, stopping her with a paw

In front of her was the steep stairs that led to the armory. If Nick didn't stop her, she would have fallen down them. Then again, hes the reason she was distracted in the first place.

"Thanks Nick, That could've been disastrous" Judy said, a little embarrassed.

"Don't mention it" Nick said in a calm voice

She looked over at him, he was giving her that smirk again. She couldn't get him out of her head anymore. She felt like she was thinking about that smirk on her own time more than she should. She looked away. Nick looked away as well, focusing on the stairs Judy almost fell down instead of her. He made his first step down the cold metal platforms. The metal made a deep metallic sound with every step Nick made, on the other paw, Judy's steps made almost none. When they reached the bottom of the dangerous stairway, they were greeted with a large metallic room and strange looks from the other police officers that filled it.

"Follow my lead" Nick whispered to Judy, trying to hide it to the best of his abilities.

Judy looked at Nick waiting for his action that she would follow. Nick slowly lifted a pair of aviators from his shirt pocket and slid them on with an added smirk for effect. The entire room shifted their heads back forward, looking at the table in front of them.

"Works every time" Nick said looking at Judy for a split second, then looking back at the crowd of giant animals in front of them. He casually walked into the room and took his place in line. Judy stayed behind, dumbfounded at the stunt Nick just pulled.

'How does he do that?' She thought 'He's like a wizard'

She saw Nick looking at her intently. She immediately started to walk towards where he was standing.

"Need me to stop you from falling down some stairs again Carrot's?" Nick said, noticing how distracted she seemed.

"Oh har har" Judy said sarcastically "Very funny Nick"

Judy heard the sound of the door behind the counter opening and closing. It was obvious that Nick heard it too because he turned around and waited for the line to move forward. They both heard Bogo start to talk.

"You all know how powerful these weapons are so use them wisely" Bogo said with force

"Yes Sir!" The crowed shouted out

"I want all 9mm only trained officers to come over to the right side of the counter first and all higher caliber trained officers on the left to start."

Nick and Judy both walked to the right, while the entire rest of the crowed moved to the left. Nick stood first in line, with Judy behind him. A panther came out of the same door Bogo did and closed it behind him with a loud slam that got everyone's attention. Luckily, he walked over to the left side of the counter while Bogo came over to the right.

"Whats up with him?" Nick quietly asked Bogo

"One of his friends is MIA, And hes ready to go out there and change it" Bogo said softly back to Nick

"Oh, Could be worse" Nick tried to keep things positive

"Hes presumed dead" Bogo immediately shut him down. Nick stayed silent

Bogo passed Nick a belt with a holster, walkie talkie and 5 magazines. The holster carried his sidearm. Nick grabbed the belt and put it on, suprized at how heavy it was. He turned around and before he could take one step Bogo turned him back around and leaned over the counter.

"Channel 7, radio me if you need anything" Bogo whispered in his ear, then gave him a friendly smile. Nick returned the expression with an added nod to show his respect and started to walk away, half expecting to be grabbed and turned around once again. He stopped at the doorway leading to the stairs and waited for Judy. He had never felt a like he and Bogo were even close to being friends, but now he felt like if there was ever a time to become just that, it was now. Judy stepped up to the counter as Bogo held the same equipment out to her but about two sizes smaller. She grabbed hold of the belt, as if it had a live grenade attached to it. She held it far away from her body until she looked at Nick looking at her. She stared straight into his green eyes and felt a wave of bravery flow through her. She snapped the belt onto her waist.

"Evac starts at 9:30 PM" Bogo whispered into her ear. Judy turned around to see the massive water buffalo leaning over the counter, "And also, make sure he doesn't shoot himself in the foot" Pointing at Nick.

"Will do Sir" Judy said saluting

"You were always one of the best, right from the start" Bogo said "I should be saluting you"

He straightened his back and stood up straight and did just that. Nick saw this and was immediately impressed. Without another word, Judy nodded her head and walked towards Nick, who was leaning up against the wall with his eye brows raised.

"Impressive" He said as she walked over "You've tamed the beast"

"Well he's not the first" Judy said flirtatiously

"He's not is he" Nick said in a flirtatious tone "Sly bunny"

"Dumb fox" She replied "Bogo is about to start the pep talk, listen up"

"Yes mam" Nick said, still smirking.

"Alright listen up!" Bogo shouted "I want squads Alpha, Beta and charlie on recon. Alpha, You take the helicopter, Beta, ground level on foot. And charlie" Nick and judy listened up because that was them. "Parking duty." Judy and Nick cracked a smile, He was back. "Just kidding, you two are on the rooftops. Dismissed"

Judy and Nick exchanged smiles and left the room.

In the garage, Nick looked at all the massive cars, jeeps and vans that towered over him. He saw Judy looking at the sheet of paper that Clawhauser had given her. It had license plate number of the car they were going to use.

"I really hope that its not gonna be that slow meter maid mobile you used to drive" Nick joked

"I'm sure its not Nick, don't be ridiculous" Judy replied

"715-AND" Nick said loudly, behind a large squad car

"Found it?" Judy yelled back. He had the plate number right.

Judy walked around the gigantic car to see nick standing beside her meter maid vehicle. Nick was laughing so hard that he had to bend over and hold his stomach.

"The look on your face! I cant... Ha Ha Ha Ha!" He laughed even harder. Judy looked at the dinky little thing in disgust.

"I'm just joking" Nick wiped some tears away "Its over here" Nick pointed to a small armored vehicle two cars away from the meter maid mobile.

"Nick!" Judy shouted in anger

"When i saw it I just had to" Nick said still laughing softly

Judy silently walked past him and climbed into the small car. Nick walked over and climbed into the passenger side seat.

"You got me good fox" Judy admitted

"Its in my DNA bunny" Nick said as the car turned on and vibrated through his red fur "I'm just so savage" He slipped on his shades once again.

The car drove out of the garage and onto the wet empty road as the rain softly fell onto this new broken world of theirs. It was 7:00 AM.

 **Hello guys. I'm glad to see that you're still reading my story. I have decided to continue my story until it ends, through good and bad. I do not have any days that i will be dedicated to posting chapters but i will try to create one every day or second day. I'm sorry this chapter was pretty short but i have a good reason. Next chapter will be very long because i have alot of free time coming up and i just wanted to create a short chapter to lead the way. I also promise that it will get very intense soon. Just give me some time and ill try my best. Thank you so much for reading and goodbye.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The car roughly bounced on the cracked roads of downtown Zootopia. The dreamy town slowly darkened as another dark gloomy cloud floated towards the massive skyscrapers at the heart of the city.

"well there goes my leverage" Nick said, looking back at the monster that took his good side to the problem.

Judy kept her eyes on the slowly darkening road in front of the car. She imagined a cloud that looked much worse than the last one, she just hoped that she was wrong.

"That one is definitely worse than the one we had earlier" Nick said with a small chuckle, unaware of Judy's hopes being crushed within his innocent words.

"How bad does it look Nick?" Judy asked, wanting to visualize it without endangering both of there lives.

"I don't think you'd like it if i told you" Nick said, still in awe at how massive the cloud was. Nick was right, Judy didn't really want to know its just that she had to.

Nick turned back and looked at the brown and beige buildings flying past them as they sped by. He had no interest in the boring city scenery that flew past his window, after all, he'd seen it hundreds of times before. Hes eyes slowly slid to his left, as he began to softly stare at Judy. He couldn't help it really, he loved her and this could be one of the last times he would see her. Flashes of the withered, decaying rabbit he had seen on his television flooded his mind after thinking about her dying. He winced at the inner pain, striking him directly in the heart. He tried to hide it to the best of his abilities, but failed.

"Wilde? You ok?" Judy asked, giving the hurt fox a quick glance

"Yeah im... Im fine." Nick stuttered at the sudden question.

"Don't lie to me Nick, what is it" Judy said, her worry for her partner growing almost to fast for her liking.

"I don't know, I-I guess i just thought about life without you" Nick said with a quiver in his voice.

"life without me? You'd be one lost fox" Judy joked, as the car screeched to a sudden stop at there designated location. She looked to her left to see how Nick was doing. Nick's eyes locked onto her's as he lifted one of his paws up and placed it on her shoulder.

"Im dead serious Judy-" Nick said with a glassy look in his eyes, still gazing into hers, "I don't ever want to lose you"

A tear started to form on the corner of Nicks eye. Nick felt the tear start to roll down his furry cheek and another start to form. He pulled away from the seemingly hypnotizing gaze of Judy's perfect purple eyes. He let out a loud sniff trying to suck the tears back into his eyes. Judy sat in her seat, completely stunned by the events that had just taken place. She decided to break the ever growing silence.

"Nick-" Judy started "You wont have to, Ill always be right here with you." She wrapped her small arms around Nicks torso and brought him in for a hug.

Nick felt her pull his body towards her and didn't fight her influence, he needed this. He decided to hug her back, encasing her small body inside of his large arms.

"I love you Judy" Nick said softly, lightly kissing the top her partners head. He rested his neck on top of the bunny's droopy ears and embraced in the hug for a little longer. Judy pulled away, holding nick by his shoulders.

"I love you too Wilde."

Nick and Judy jumped out of the small car that had been assigned to them at the police station, slamming the doors behind them. Judy locked the car as she walked around to Nicks side. Nick stood by the large building they were supposed to start there mission at, feeling the cracked brick it was made of. Nick turned around noticing Judy watching him. Nick gave her a soft smile.

"How are we supposed to get up there?" Judy asked, looking at the aging building in front of her.

"I don't know carrots" Nick said, his smile turning into a smirk "It could be that ladder right there, but thats just a guess.

Nick pointed to an alleyway that held one of those old fire exit balconies, with a ladder leading up to the roof.

"Nice-" Judy said "This is way easier than what i had planed"

"And what was that?" Nick said, walking through the small alley.

"Doesnt matter anymore Nick-" Judy stated "Just get up that ladder"

"Ladies first" Nick said, motioning for her to climb

"Alright, what ever you say boss" Judy said playfully

Nick smirked and followed her up the ladder. The ladder was very rusty, making Nick wonder how old the building was.

"How old you think this building is?" Nick yelled up to Judy

"50's or 60's would be my guess, why does it matter?" Judy yelled back down

"No reason, Just curious why its so rusty here" Nick replied

Judy believed him. She took hold of the last rusty bar on the ladder and pulled her small body up to the roof. She stood by the ladder and looked back at the city, the giant clouds still closing in on it. Nick pulled himself up onto the withered roof of the building and stood beside Judy. They stood there for a while looking at the cloud engulf the towers in rain.

"If the world wasn't crumbling around us right now, This would actually be pretty nice" Nick said, resting his arm on her head

They both heard a loud gunshot coming from behind them. They both hastily turned around, facing the direction of the noise.

"Holy crap!" Nick yelled, startled by the loud noise.

Judy swiftly grabbed her radio and yanked it out of her belt, switching it on.

"Shots fired, repeat, shots fired!" She yelled, hoping someone would respond

"We heard that one too, where are you positioned?" A staticy voice crackled through her radio

Judy pressed down the button on the right side of her radio "Were on the rooftops, Do we investigate?"

"Negative, Were on it" the voice replied

"Copy that" Judy said and turned off the radio, re attaching it to her belt, "Alright Nick, lets go"

"What?-" Nick said confused "He just said that they've got it"

"Your not letting me go by myself are you?" Judy asked, starting her sprint on the flat concrete of the roof, giving Nick no choice but to follow.

"You are one crazy bunny."

They arrived at the scene. Two officers, a rhino and a ram where arresting a hyena, pushing him to the ground and kneeling on his nape. There was a magnum laying 3 feet away from the culprits head, indicating it was the one he had fired.

"I. Told. You" Nick said, out of breath "They've got this"

Judy lifted her had up by Nicks face, immediately silencing him. He crouched down on the gravel rooftop beside her with a loud exhale and watched the stable looking scene. The two police officers lifted the handcuffed criminal up onto his feet. A louder, closer gunshot was discharged, startling both Judy and Nick. The ram let go of the hyena and fell to the ground, lifeless.

"Get down" Nick said pushing Judy's head away from sight. He peeked over to see three more gunshots fired from the the unknown into the rhinos head and chest. Three clouds of red blood confirmed all shots had landed. The rhino fell to the ground with a loud thump.

"We need to help them Nick, They need us" Judy said loudly

"Its too late, their both gone" Nick said lowering his head as he saw five more hyenas jump out of the shadows and surround the corpses.

Nick looked at Judy laying prone beside him, disbelief in her eyes. Nick wanted to stand up and fire shots down at those... Those scum, but he new it wasn't smart.

"I'm sorry Judy, there's nothing we can do" Nick said, his green eyes piercing her soul. "I know these guys and they're bad news for everyone"

"We cant just let them get away with this Nick!" Judy said, close to yelling now

"Those people are killers and now that this city is being ripped apart, whats stopping them from picking off every cop in town?-" Nick started in a forceful tone, "Its to late for those two down there but not for us. I want to kill all of those guys down there too, we just can't."

"Nick-" Judy said, still staring into his eyes, "Follow me"

Judy crouched behind the small wall on the side of the building and started walking towards a ladder leading down to ground level. She unholstered her sidearm and inspected the powerful weapon carefully. She pulled back the slide on top and let go, the weapon giving out a satisfying click. She lowered her gun and looked back at Nick. She saw him still laying prone behind the small wall. He grew an unsure look on his face when Judy softly nodded in his direction and crawled towards the ladder.

"Judy!" Nick loudly whispered, failing to get her attention "You really are just a dumb bunny"

Nick pushed himself up off the gravel and started his crawl towards Judy. Judy reached the wall beside the ladder first but before she could even reach for it she felt a paw hold a sturdy grip on her shoulder. Nick stacked up on the wall, standing behind her.

"I really feel like this is a horrible idea but i just cant bring myself to let you do this by yourself" Nick whispered "I've got your back carrot's"

"I have a plan, just follow me ok?" Judy asked, already placing her hind paws on the old ladder. Nick simply shrugged.

They climbed down the rusty ladder, bar by bar, wincing at the small metallic sound that it produced. They reached the bottom, immediately getting into position. Nick followed Judy to the corner of the building. She made a quick peek around the corner, her ears searching the area like a radar. She quickly moved back behind the wall. She looked at Nick and nodded. They both simultaneously peeked out of their cover, aiming their guns at the murderers last seen location. Nick saw the crowd of hyenas looting the officers bodies. He started to fire powerful shots into six culprits, with no hesitation. Judy watched as the hyena's fell to the ground one by one and felt the hot shells from Nicks weapon bounce off her shoulder. Four of the six mammals were hit before Nick moved back into cover. Nick swiftly reloaded his weapon and looked at Judy.

"Carrot's?" Nick said loudly, not worrying about breaking their cover anymore.

Judy shifted back into cover again, breathing heavily. She didn't fire a single shot. She looked back at Nick, and then she saw the hyena wearing a leather jacket and blue jeans slowly creep up behind him. She aimed her gun at the dog and fired. The hyena fired two shots before being pushed into the wall behind him by the shot Judy had fired into his chest. He slowly slid down the brick as his blood streaked the rough surface. He dropped his gun when he reached the bottom. He was dead. Nick looked back at the hyena who could've killed them both.

"Nice shot carrot's" Nick added, still startled "You saved my life"

"I also just took his" Judy said lowering her weapon

Nick crouched down, attracting her attention into his eyes instead of the body that lay behind him.

"He tried to take ours, we had no choice" Nick said calmly

Judy calmed down. In the academy she was taught that this could happen one day, that she could have to kill someone. That day was today and she was not as ready as she thought she was.

"Bastard!" The hyena yelled behind Nick before firing another loud shot into his back.

Nick felt the force from the puncture push him forward onto his knees in front of Judy. Then came the pain. It felt as if one thousand knives stabbed into his upper back. He started to lose his strength as he fell forwards into Judy's arms. The hyena attempted to fire another shot into the bunny, but failed as his gun as out of ammo. Judy lifted her gun once again, discharging her entire clip into the hyena's limp body, killing him for good this time. Judy looked at Nick, laying in her arms. She started to tear up as she saw the blood soak through his uniform.

"Stay with me Nick, come on!" She quivered, applying pressure to his wound

Nick lay in her arms, listening to her soothing voice as his world started to fade around him. He started to close his eyes, finally giving up. He felt her left arm wrap around his head as she pulled him in closer.

"Please Nick, Please" She began to cry, her tears falling onto Nicks red fur.

The deep sound of thunder began to roll through the sky and the rain started to fall onto Judy and Nick. Nick felt the ground start to get wet, as they still lay in the dark, trashy alley.

'This is it' Nick thought to himself 'This is how i die'

The rain around them intensified, it pelted Judy's furry head and the brick walls around them but neither of them cared, this was the end.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The giant blood orange sun began to set behind the wall of buildings on the horizon, marking the end of the day. The red color that stained the walls of buildings around the city began to slowly fade away into the dark abyss of night. Light bounced off the giant skyscrapers at the center of Zootopia and reflected into a foxes eyes, slowly waking him up.

"Nick?" A warm voice to his right said "get up Nick"

Nick gradually opened his emerald green eyes to receive a blurry image of a small TV in front of him and his two hind paws rested on a wooden coffee table in front of the TV. The light from the sun blinded Nick, making it even harder for him to see his surroundings.

"Niiiiick?" A soft voice called once again.

Nick ignored the voice. He looked down to see his body, covered by his ugly green Hawaiian shirt and blue and red stripped tie laying on top of it. He took a deep breath in, watching as the articles of clothing slowly rose up and fell back down.

"Come on Nick," the voice said "that foot chase couldn't have been that tiring"

Nick gently looked over to his right, hoping to see something that made at least a little sense to him. His eyes magnetized to the amethyst ones looking back at him. He stared straight into Judy's eyes.

"Carrot's?" Nick said squinting, confused beyond measure.

"Yeah i'm here Nick" Judy replied, watching as her partner shifted his head back around to look at the TV.

"How long was i out for?" he questioned

"about half an hour, that was a long chase so i thought id give you the time to sleep. Plus you look so adorable when your tired" Judy answered

Nick realized that they were at his apartment, sitting on his stained blue couch. He looked to his left, his vision becoming more clear as a rush of adrenaline flowed through him. Boosted by confusion, curiosity and worry, he pulled his paws off of the creaky table and swiftly got up off of the couch he was laying on. He stood between the couch and the coffee table, inspecting the world around him. To his right was his tiny kitchen, still a complete mess. To his left was the living room window that the hard rain fell on when he found out about the epidemic. Thats when it all came to him. What had happened? He slowly lifted a paw up to his shoulder, waiting to feel a sharp pain as he rested it on his joint, but to his surprise, there was none. He rested his paw on his shoulder, in relief and confusion. He methodically rubbed the spot where the bullet had entered his furry body. Judy studied her partner in disbelief of his strange actions.

"You ok Nick?" She broke the silence

Nick looked at the orange light shining through the kitchen window and walked towards it, putting a paw on the glass as he arrived. Judy got increasingly worried as she followed him over. She stood beside him, about half his height. She started into his eyes and saw pain like she had never seen before. Nick was forced to stop rubbing his shoulder when he felt Judy's furry paw touch his.

"Nick, whats wrong?" Judy asked the damaged fox as he looked down at the tiny world.

"I- I saw the world in a dream." He stopped

"OK whats so bad about that?" Judy inattentively looked into his eyes, waiting for an answer.

"It was different, horrible" Nick said resting his forehead against the glass of the window. "The world was dying Judy. The whole world was plunged into chaos and we were the only ones there to clean up the mess. Well there were others but-"

"Its ok Nick, you can tell me everything" Judy put her paws on his face and moved his head in her direction, staring into his emerald eyes.

Nick pulled the curtain for the window down, darkening the whole room.

"Ok carrot's, follow me" Nick said as he made his way towards his bedroom. Judy silently followed.

Nick opened the door to his room. it looked the same as in his nightmare, only a little darker. He walked into the messy room, throwing some discarded cloths on his floor into a laundry basket in the corner of his room. He heard the sound of Judy's footsteps behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see her standing in his doorway.

"Sorry for the mess" Nick apologized

"Its ok Nick, you know i don't mind" Judy answered softly. He had never apologized for his mess ever before.

Nick sat down on his bed, hearing it creak as it sagged under his weight. Judy sat beside him on the bed, waiting for him to pull a sly move and try to kiss her, or worse. He sighed as he started to speak.

"I- i died Judy" He said with a deflated sigh "Or i was dying"

"What happened?" Judy said, realizing that this was more serious to him than she originally thought.

"There, was an epidemic on its way to Zootopia, and everyone was scared and in panic." Nick started "we tried to help to other cops get control of a situation but-"

Judy placed her paw on Nick's. She felt his fur and skin were very cold and also, he was shivering. Judy sat closer, instantly making him feel better. Nick looked over at judy, and then back at the wall. He forced out a big breath and continued.

"They died too" Nick said, "the same way i did"

Judy wanted Nick to just get to the point but she didnt force anything.

"We were shot by a gang of hyenas" Nick let out, "ive seen how ruthless they were before and i was scared to tell you that it was likely one of us could die. It was my fault."

"Nick" Judy got his attention "Im right here Nick. There's no epidemic, no gang coming to shoot us, its just me, and you"

Nick looked back at her and for about three seconds he remembered that it was all a dream. He pulled Judy in for a furry hug, surprising her when he did. Judy gave out a gasp as she felt Nicks furry arms wrap around her small, fragile body. She realized it was only an innocent hug and wrapped her arms around him too. They both let go of each other. Judy looked up at Nicks face, illuminated by the red sunlight shining through his window. He looked down at her.

"You've saved my life to many times Judy" He started in a quivery voice, "im worried i wont be able to do the same for you"

"I know that no matter what happens to me, or to you, or to the world for that matter, saving your stupid butt is all that matters"

Nick let out a soft laugh, showing Judy that he was reassured.

"In fact, i think ill stay the night if you don't mind" Judy said.

Nick's ears instantly perked up on surprise. Judy had never made a request like that.

"I don't know Judy, I mean like, where would you even sleep?" He said nervously, slowly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Right here" Judy said, placing a paw on the bed they were both sitting on.

"Oh yeah. The couch in the living room is a pullout, ill sleep there i guess" Nick said, still feeling a bit awkward

"No Nick," She said shaking her head. He obviously didn't get the point, "You are sleeping here too, with me"

Nick blushed a bright red as his jaw hung open wide. He was speechless, he had wanted to share a moment like this with Judy ever since he met her, but he never had the chance.

"Trust me Nick," She said standing up onto his worn hardwood floor, "you need me" She winked at him.

Judy left the room with the dumbfounded fox still sitting on the bed. His mind was racing with so many thoughts that he just short circuited. He shook his head, snapping out of the trance Judy had left him in. He slowly smiled, thinking of how lucky he was to have a girl like her. The best part was that he couldn't even stop.

They passed two hours watching a movie called "The Hibernant." They sat on the couch together as the last rays of sunlight set there mark on the city. The city was dark and the streetlights had turned on when the movie ended. They sat on the couch for a while, discussing the movie they had just watched. It was around 10:00 when they decided to get some sleep. They walked hand in hand, down the hallway to Nicks room. When they arrived at the opened door to his room, Nick walked in first. Since his room was so dark and Nick had better night-vision than Judy, he led the way. Nick placed his paw on the bed, it supported his weight so he didn't fall over.

Nick pointed at the general direction of the bed and said "Make yourself at home"

Judy climbed onto the bed that was a little big for her. She got comfortable in his bed and looked back at Nick. He stood there watching her, unsure of what his next move should be.

"You know i can really just pull out the bed out there if you want" He said pointing to the hallway that led to the living room.

"Come over here you dumb fox" Judy said with a little grin on her face.

"Ok," Nick said, "dont get mad at me if i start to cuddle the crap out of you"

He climbed onto the bed and chose a spot behind Judy. He pulled the warm covers over them. They stayed a safe distance away from each other.

"Goodnight Judy" Nick said, closing both eyes.

"Goodnight Nick" Judy said, interrupted by the ticklish feeling of Nicks tail touching her foot.

"Sorry" He said as he moved it away, "I swear it has a mind of its own"

"Not a problem Nick" Judy said as she closed her eyes.

Judy got about 5 minutes of sleep before she was awoken by the sound of Nicks voice.

"Judy, Judy wake up" Nick whispered.

Judy's eyes opened to see the orange fox a little closer than she remembered. She looked into his eyes, wondering what had him up. She looked down and noticed that his shirt was off aswell. She immediately looked away and blushed, feeling embarrassed.

"Sorry about that, its a little warm" Nick said, noticing what she was thinking.

'its just Nick, nothing else. He just doesnt have a shirt on" Judy thought to herself. She turned back around, trying to not stare at his bare chest.

"Yeah, what is it Nick?" Judy whispered back

"Its just," Nick stopped

Judy noticed that there was something wrong. "What is it Nick, Whats wrong"

"Judy, there's nothing wrong" Nick said, "there's something right. After that dream i had i realized how important you are to me. Judy, i never want to leave you"

Judy was touched by his words, as if they went straight to her heart. She moved in closer to him and wrapped her arms around him, forgetting the shirt problem. It didnt really matter anymore.

"I dont either Nick" She placed a kiss on his cheek.

Nick started to cuddle her. He felt his tail moving up to wrap around her body. She tried to resist but failed. Judy felt his furry tail wrap around her legs. She didnt protest, she adored it anyways.

Nick placed a kiss on the top of Judy's furry head. "I love you Carrots"

Judy gave out a smile, "I love you to Nick."

The two lovers slept on as the night slowly crept away. There hearts beat at the same time throughout it all. They loved each other to the end.

 **Hey guys its ya boy The_OAOBB here. Ok i'm just kidding but i actually have to say something on a serious note quickly. I realize that it took FOREVER for this chapter to come out but as always, i have a good reason. The past weeks have been very hard for me because i had alot of school work i needed to do and i was also contemplating alot of what my life is. I'm sorry if your annoyed that it took so long to get to read this chapter but i really had no spare time on my hands. The upcoming weeks are going to be pretty easy so i will wright a chapter 5 soon. P.S. The story does continue and i do have plans. This isnt the end.**


	5. Chapter 5

Moonlight softly shown through Nicks window, making a white, square shaped marking on his floor. The light unintentionally bounced off the floor and faintly light up his entire bedroom. The darkness of night consumed most of the light that entered. The time was 2:34, when Judy mysteriously woke up. She lazily opened her amethyst eyes to see the darkness ominously consume the world around her. She couldn't help but realize that she was cuddled up into Nicks furry bare chest. She also felt his long warm tail around her short legs. She was so warm and happy, she never even wanted to think about leaving. She looked up at his face to see that he looked so happy. What did she expect, she _was_ great company. She was about to go back to her lover and sleep again, when she heard a soft noise coming from Nicks kitchen. She raised her eyebrows in alarm, wondering what could have made that sound. She brushed it off as just a figure of her imagination. She moved back into Nick and cuddled him softly. She heard the sound again, but more distinct. The sound of dishes being moved around became louder and louder. It didnt make Nick wake up but made Judy spring up in fear. She sat on the bed, her back up straight and the hairs on her neck standing tall. She slowly slide her way out of the bed. Carefully removing Nicks furry orange tail off of her legs. She stood up in the moonlight room, staring into the darkness that covered the hallway. She then realized that Nick had closed the door behind them before they had gone to sleep. Another cold shiver went up her spine as she though of something being in the apartment, watching them as they slept. Slowly and carefully she walked towards the ominous darkness that seemed to be looking back at her. It was only a few seconds before she walked into it that she realized it was! Two glowing red eyes appeared in the from the darkness and stared into her soul, freezing her on the spot. The mysterious entity dashed away in fear of being studied any further.

"Nick!" Judy screamed, but Nick gave no answer. She slowly stepped backwards towards the bed slowly, calling Nicks name softly but seriously. She didnt look away from the door once.

"Nick get up!" She yelled, hopefully waking him up.

She placed her small paw on the bed where Nick was sleeping but to her surprise, no one was there. She looked back at the bed for a split second to see that he was not there. Terrified, worried and courageous she slowly walked towards the door again and called his name into the darkness.

With her shaky voice she called. "Nick... If this is some kind of sick joke ill kill you"

She got no response except for a loud crash from Nicks kitchen, making her jump far back into Nicks bedroom. She had had enough of Nicks sick pranks. Angry but still cautious she hastily walked towards the hallway and finally took her first step past the door. She walked down the hallway and entered Nicks small apartment living room, checking her corners for Nick jump scares. The small kitchen was attached to the living room so it was easy for her to see that Nick was not there. She walked into the kitchen to see a small plate smashed into little shards on the ground. She an itch to clean up the mess but it was more important to her to find Nick first. She walked passed the plate and went back into his living room. When she walked into the living room the first thing she noticed was that the furniture was all torn up and ruined.

"What?" Judy softly said to herself in confusion. When she first entered the room everything was clean and not ripped apart.

She also noticed a small stain on the ground next to the window. She went over to inspect the strange mark. It didnt take her long to find out that it was blood. She gasped, starting to doubt her prank theory. She heard a soft noise behind her. Startled, Judy stood up and swiftly turned around. She almost had a heart attack when she saw a tall creature standing 2 meters behind her. On closer inspection she noticed that it was just Nick.

"Damnit Nick!" She yelled at him, "Dont scare me like that." She got no response from him. He stared at the floor but stood tall above her.

She walked towards him, thinking that the nightmare was over. She only took about one step towards him when she noticed that he wasn't, at all. He stood as still as a statue, not twitching, not swaying, not breathing. She recalled her one step for safe measure.

"Nick?" She said concerned. She realized that there could be something wrong with him and that she should probably not let her fear keep her back from helping a good "Friend." She slowly walked towards Nick once again. He was still quiet and statue like. She stood right beside him and slowly took his hand.

"Nick?" She said softly. Nick slowly opened his eyes as Judy looked into them, waiting for a reaction.

"WAKE UP!" Nick yelled at the top of his lungs, terrifying Judy and making her hop back towards the window.

"WAKE UP!" Nick yelled again as he slowly lifted his head and looked at Judy, with his glowing red eyes.

Judy was stunned with fear, worry, so many emotions she didn't know how to react. Nick still stood still but stared right at Judy. That was until he took one long loud step towards her! Judy attempted to bolt passed him but failed. She ran passed him but he swung his claws in her direction with so much force that he slammed her into the wall behind him. Judy lay, crippled from the impact on the living room floor. Nick began a slow pace to her position. Adrenaline and fear pulsed through her body again as she tried to get up and escape, but she realized from multiple spikes of severe pain that she could not. Paralyzed, Judy waited for her imminent doom. Nick slowly made his way towards her until he was right beside her. He slowly looked down at the shivering bunny as he crouched beside her. It was when a little ray of moonlight hit his face that Judy noticed that the fox wasn't Nick! The fox wore a brown trench coat and had a thick gray collar around his neck. His fur was much darker and it looked much more messy. The foxes mouth got surprisingly close to her neck while she wasn't paying attention. It was when he opened his jaws and she saw a mouth full of bloody, razor sharp teeth inside that she started to panic.

"P..Please, Please don't, I can help you j..just please have mercy" Judy cried. It had no effect. Slowly the foxes teeth wrapped around her fragile neck. She only had one chance, only one person could save her now.

"Nick!" She screamed her last words. The fox bit down on her neck and blood splatted all over the wall and floor. The fox let go of the dead corpse and stood up, waiting for his next victim, which he already knew was on his way.

Nick drove down a small, lamp light street on his way back to the apartment. He had gone out around 1:00 AM because Finnick texted him saying he had some serious problems. He drove down to Finnicks apartment quickly and no one was there. Well, except for this dark furred fox in a brown trench coat. He kinda scared Nick because he just wouldn't stop staring at him. Nick shrugged it off. He was already more than half way home and missing Judy more than ever. For some reason he got kinda worried about her when he saw that fox. Just a weird figure of his imagination i guess. He was sure she'd be fine when he gets back. A red light stopped Nick on an empty road. He heard a soft knocking sound on the roof of his car. She sound slowly picked up pace before he noticed it had begun to rain. Nick enjoyed the rain more than anyone else he knew. It made the pavement outside his car glisten in the moonlight and he loved it. He leaned on his window and stared out into the darkness.

"WAKE UP!" He heard a distant voice yell. Confused, Nick sprung up in his car and perked up his ears.

Then there was silence as Nick listened for another sound. The silence was followed up by a loud scream, a female scream, a bunny's scream. It was Judy's scream! Nick's adrenaline went off the charts as instinct took control. He ran the empty red light and drove passed the speed limit to his apartment. Luckily no one was on the road. Nick drifted into the parking lot and immediately jumped out of his car, not even bothering to park it. He ran through the rain and into the building, not caring that his fur was soaking wet. He ran straight into the elevator and punched the button for his floor. Once he arrived he ran straight to his room. He fumbled his keys and dropped them on the ground.

"Come on, Come on!" Nick said frustrated and worried, attempting to open his door. When he finally unlocked it he ran into his living room. He didn't see Judy but what he did see was a dark red fox crouched by the window inspecting a little pool of blood on the ground. He quietly walked behind him, approximately 2 meters away. The fox turned around and look at him like he was some kind of monster.

"What did you do to her!" Nick yelled, scaring the fox and making him jump.

The fox tried some shifty moves when Nick took one step towards him and tried to run passed Nick but failed. Nick swiped the foxes back with so much power that he smashed into the wall behind Nick. Nick slowly turned around, rage taking control of his mind and body. He realized that he was paralyzed from the impact. Nick slowly walked over to the terrified fox and crouched down beside it. The fox started to ramble but then he yelled.

"WAKE UP!"

Nick had enough. He opened his mouth and wrapped his teeth around the foxes neck.

The fox yelled, "Nick!"

With one swift chomp, the foxes blood splattered all over the wall and ground and he was nothing left but a limp body. Nick looked down at the mess he had made and then back at his kill. Something was wrong. He looked at him closely and then blinked a few times to clear his eyes. What he saw ruined him. Judy lay on the ground beside him where the fox was and she had a massive bite wound in her neck.

"N...No, No No No" Nick stuttered, stunned by his actions. He started to cry and held Judy close to him.

"WAKE UP!" A voice from behind him said. Nick turned around to see the fox standing behind him. He put Judy down and stood up. He started to run towards the fox, yelling as loud as he could. Half way there, he fell to his knees and started to black out. The feeling of rain falling on his back started to over come him. He heard the phrase again.

"Wake up" a soft and sad voice said.

Nick woke up to the rain and the pain of a gunshot wound in his side and the feeling of being held in Judy's arms. He came back to his sense and started to scream as loud as he could into the moist air.

"Nick!" Judy said in surprise. Nicks only response was more screaming from fear, confusion, happiness, sadness, and over all, pain from the gunshot wound he had back in that alley in Zootopia.

He was back.


	6. Chapter 6

Nick's yells of pain echoed off the buildings and through the many streets of Zootopia. The rain pounded on his limp body as he felt Judy's cold paws hold him tight. The pain stung his entire back, while he begun to feel light headed. He took a deep breath and started to talk to Judy.

"Judy!" Nick yelled in pain.

"Nick talk to me!" Judy replied, yelling in equal volume to negate the pounding of the rain.

"Judy… It's my shoulder! He got my-" Nick was cut off by his own cough, but then swiftly continued. "He shot me in the shoulder!"

Judy responded by turning Nick around in her lap. Not an easy task for a small bunny, but that really was the theme of the day at this point. Nick's shoulder was a mess of bloody flesh and torn uniform cloth. It looked much worse than it was, and Judy operated on his back, trying to understand Nick's full situation. Her paws stained with blood as she closely inspected Nicks wound. Nick groaned in pain, but did not struggle as he trusted Judy to help him.

"You're gonna be fine Nick, just stay with me. It's not as bad as it looks. The bullet didn't go through your shoulder, and it's not too deep." Judy shouted to Nick. Even with close proximity, the rain was hard to talk over.

Nick only replied with more groans as Judy unrolled a small roll of gauze over Nick's shoulder. She kept this on her uniform at all times, just incase. Never did she think it's first use, would be stopping blood loss from a bullet wound in her favorite fox. Keeping calm, she wrapped it around his shoulder as best as she could. The rain only made the ever growing blood stains on the gauze look worse, as Judy couldn't tell if it was getting that way, or it was just an illusion. All she knew is she needed to get Nick into the car, and back the the police station infirmary as quick as possible. She just wasn't sure if Nick could do so. He had no choice.

"Alright Nick, i patched you up best i could, we need to get into the car and get you to the infirmary, okay?" She said calmly, leaning into Nick's droopy ears. Nick gave no reply. The storm intensified as hail started to rain down like meteorites from space. The impact felt like bullets themselves.

She called again. "Nick, we need to go, now!" She yelled at the fox, a mix of worry and determination pushing her every action and statement. Nick lay limp, accepting his fate all too early. Judy tried on last thing, she gave him a passionate kiss on the lips, a last show of her love to him. If he was going to get up and go through the pain for her, or give up and die, it didn't matter. This was all she needed to do.

Nick loved Judy. After that vision or dream he had, it reinforced how much he cared about her. She sat her in full knowledge of the danger in doing so. A plague unlike any other swept the nation, and no one knew how it spread or how to stop it, yet Judy patches him up and gets her hands dirty in his blood in the freezing rain! Not even mentioning the impending anarchy. Judy would do anything for him, and this was proof of that. Nick remembered the dream, Judy being so caring and insisting to sleep with him that night. In his arms. He felt it in his soul. A fire, one that will never let up. A fire that will keep him going, as long as she is. A fire, that made Nick open his eyes, look at Judy after that kiss and use all of his strength that remained to stand.

As Nick attempted to stand, Judy was startled that the one kiss was enough to boot him up again. Nick wasn't strong enough to carry himself to the car, so Judy slowly helped him up. Upon standing, Nick winced and whimpered in pain. Judy fought through the harsh emotion coming from the noises Nick made, as they begun their walk down the wet alley. The car wasn't far, maybe 2 or 3 blocks, but they had to be quick. More gangs were on pursuit of the cops in the city. Nick and Judy were open season. Once they exited the alley, they started walking through the empty street in the direction of their car. Hail pounded every surface with loud tings and bangs as they walked. Judy tried her hardest and used all of the might she had to keep Nick from falling, but those whimpers and whines wouldn't stop. The pain was great, and he was getting weaker with every step. As they drudged on, they finally got to a point where they could see the car.

"There Nick! There it is!" Judy called, alerting Nick of the vehicles sudden presence in view. Nick made out a soft groan in response, which only worried Judy more. A few more meters were successfully conquered, as the two made it to the car. Judy opened the passenger seat and lightly assisted Nick's entrance into it, as he continually made more whimpers of pain. Judy slid across the hood and swiftly opened the driver's seat door. Nick slowly fainted again, the last events taking place being the roar of the engine, and the bumpy suburban Zootopian roads.

"Stay with me Nick, come on!" Nick heard an emotional bunny exclaim as he descended into total darkness.

 **-Five Hours Later-**

The soft beeping of a heart rate monitor was the first thing Nick heard after his second black out. He had lost a lot of blood, and definitely reacted accordingly. Nick slowly opened his eyes to see a white ceiling and teal lined walls. His paws lay at his side as he felt the soft fabric of the bed he resided in. He was warm, and it was so much better than the cold hail he was in just a few hours ago. He gripped the fabric of the bed, as the pain in his shoulder, abruptly returned. He let out a small groan, immediately attracting the attention of a cute bunny sitting in a chair beside him. She stood up with electrifying speed and preparation, only to place a paw on Nick's scruffy face and look him in his emerald eyes.

"Oh god how i missed you Nick. I thought i lost you" Judy softly stated as she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Nick let out a smile, as the blurry image of Judy subsided. He saw Judy, still in her uniform, but still as beautiful as ever. He knew that after all this, his old partners would've just left him behind. But here she stood, without anything to say but kind words and overflowing love to give.

"Trust me Carrots, it would be impossible to lose an obnoxious fox like myself, especially when he loves you" Nick spurted his thoughts in his usual sly manner. They both smiled and Judy moved closer to his bed to give him a hug. Softly and carefully, she did just that.

A female deer, one of the nurses, stood at the door eavesdropping on the entire conversation. All she did was smile along with them. It didn't take long for Judy to notice their observer. Still being cautious about their public expression of love, Judy reluctantly pulled away from Nick. The deer walked over to Nick's bed slowly, still smiling at Judy.

"Officer Nicholas P. Wilde, you have sustained a minor 9mm gunshot wound to the upper right shoulder. You're very lucky to be in great shape and to have some wonderful company to shake it off with." She glanced at Judy with approval. It was good to know there were more allies out there than she had originally thought.

"Can you move your arm for me?" The deer asked, patiently.

Nick obeyed and did just that, removing his arm from under the sheets and lifting it up in front of his snout. He flexed his fingers back and forth as he stared at them with awe. He was more than happy to be alive. Judy and the deer observed Nick's actions with interest.

"Looks like you've got step two down aswell" the deer said with a grin. "Now can you use those arms to sit up?"

Nick placed his paws beside him and slowly lifted his upper body off the bed. A dull pain shot into his shoulder, and Nick collapsed back onto the bed. Judy responded quickly to this and placed her paw on Nick's. As he felt this, he looked into her eyes once more and felt that same fire fill his entire body as he watched Judy nod in reassurance. Nick tried again, lifting his whole torso off the bed and into a sitting position, fighting through the pain. Once he arrived at a steady position, Judy congratulated him with a soft, bunny like smile. Nick smiled back.

"Excellent work Nicholas!" The deer exclaimed. She seemed quite surprised at Nick's accomplishment.

"It's just Nick. Call me Nick" He said with a grin. It was good to be back.

"Alright Nick, it seems as though you're doing exceptionally well regarding your recent injuries, we can evacuate you as soon as 2:00 PM" She explained to him.

"Two?" Nick said in surprise, "We can't leave at two! There is still work to be done, people to be saved!" Nick shouted, startled by the current situation.

Judy replied softly. "It's okay Nick. The majority of civilians have been evacuated by now. We need to get you out of here, you're in no shape to fight and i'm not staying behind.." The deer nodded in agreement.

"She's right. I can get you both out at two." The deer repeated.

Nick sighed in agreement, they were right. As bad as it felt to leave this city behind, it wasn't like there was much he could do for it anyways. It's better off to save himself and Judy, than to risk it all for his own ego. He grew up in this city and swore to protect it. Leaving it felt like he was leaving the one thing he ever succeeded in. That was until he looked over and saw Judy once more. He then remembered that no matter where he is, as long as she was with him, everything was gonna be fine.

"Two it is" Nick said to the deer, who seemed to be heavily distracted by some outer force as her ears perked up. Judy noticed this two, as the deer acted more and more alert to her surroundings.

"Are you alright ma'am?" Judy asked with concern. She was not replied with words from the deer, but from loud smashing of glass outside the infirmary doors, followed by gunshots and yelling. The ZPD was under attack!


	7. Chapter 7

Panic ensued inside the building. Frantic shouting and loud gunshots could be heard through the infirmary walls. A group of four, maybe five, had entered the ZPD and opened fire upon the few officers that remained inside its safe walls. Not anymore that was. Judy, Nick and the deer burst into panic.

"What was that?" Judy shouted in terror, when she heard the continuous gunshots ring through the building. She started to shiver, and her nose twitched quite obviously, far beyond afraid.

"You guys need to leave, NOW!" the deer shouted in a frantic tone, making sure they absolutely got the message of grave danger.

"My shoulder is busted! Not even mentioning, how the hell do we escape?!" Nick yelled back, feeling his fur stand up in knowledge of the dire circumstances taking hold. He looked at Judy, who was stunned in fear, her paw still resting on his. He then looked up at the deer, who watched the door carefully with a stern, but nervous face. She pointed towards a small window at the other side of the room. This was their chance.

"That window is our only chance, we take it or we die Nick" the deer replied, looking him dead in the eyes, "Get up before it's too late."

Nick obeyed. Judy came to her senses and helped Nick out of the bed. He painfully, but hastily made it out of that comfortable prison and placed his feet on the cold tile floor. Judy wrapped her arm around him once again, preparing for another struggle, but Nick seemed to walk just fine. He made his way over to the window with decent speed for his injuries. The window was a little taller than he was which required him to reach up to get to it. He swiftly opened the cold metal frame by twisting a small tab on it, and pushed it outwards, exposing the room to the cold, stormy air. He then kneeled down behind the wall below it, feeling the hard tile firmly press against his still weakened legs. Nick placed his paws on his other knee, and motioned for Judy to climb up and out the window. Judy silently obeyed, as she walked towards him, placed her foot on his paws and boosted herself up and out the window. Now it was Nick's turn. Quickly, he looked back to see the deer lock the infirmary door and hastily make her way towards the window, in hopes to escape. Nick Jumped up onto the window frame, forgetting about his damaged shoulder as he attempted to use it to hoist himself up and over. It was no use. The deer came to help him, but it was too late. The intruders banged on the locked door, demanding entry either by acceptance or through force.

"Open up in there! Give us all your shit and we'll leave, got it?" The angry assailant claimed. He was clearly lying, but continued to bash on the door. The deer helped Nick up and onto the window frame, just before the mammal shot the lock off the door, and begun to open it. The last Nick saw, was the deer attempting to climb after Nick, but knowing it was no use, she heroically held the criminal off, running and bashing her whole body into the slowly opening door, closing it shut. She looked back, and simply nodded, tears in her eyes. Nick had no choice, but to drop onto the street with Judy.

"Nick, where's the deer?" Judy asked, a concerned look plastered across her face.

"We have to go! Follow me" Nick commanded, avoiding her questions, and possibly many more she had. Nick started a sprint across the street behind the ZPD. There were no cars to be seen. Nick kept sprinting as far as he could. Judy was forced to follow close behind. As they ran through the ghostly streets of Zootopia, they both heard 3 more shots echo off the buildings, followed up by another. Nick and Judy kept running, knowing the deer was gone, and there was no longer anywhere to hide. All they could do was run.

As the sun began to peek from around the clouds, the rain ceased to fall. The looming clouds floated away as if they had other people to mess with. The streets lay empty, and the sun had begun to bake the black asphalt that covered the roads. Nick and Judy, finally came to a stop at a small apartment near Nick's. Taking a seat on the slowly warming concrete outside the apartment, the two coughed and wheezed their way through a conversation.

"She… couldn't make it. They shot… the lock off… the door. She held them…. Back. She saved us" Nick pushed, still panting heavily from the sprint. Judy lay beside him, leaning on him and breathing just as heavy.

"She's a hero, and we… will remember her as that" Judy replied, hastily. She wanted to forget about all of this, but she couldn't. That deer was so kind to them and the love they shared. Now she was gone. She symbolized a last sign of hope for the diverse and accepting Zootopia to continue on after its fall. Not mentioning, they no longer have a way out.

"Nick… i'm so sorry. This isn't what you deserve. What we deserve. There is no way out of this crisis. The pandemic is coming, and lives will be lost. I just couldn't live with myself if one of those lives were yours" Judy explained to Nick, catching her breath, but still leaning into Nick's side out of exhaustion.

"No one deserves anything Carrots. I got lucky with you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Before the Night Howlers, i was no one. I just wanted to live and die, satisfied with myself and no one else. That flawless luck, is running out. Guess it just came sooner than we had hoped. You're the last relic of that golden age in my life, and i know as long as we can keep each other alive, it'll find it's way" Nick stated boldly, looking at the small bunny, seeming to be in shock by his words.

"I knew you had a way with words Nick, but i had no idea you were a poet at heart" She said with a little giggle, attempting to lighten the mood. Gladly it worked. Although they both knew of the horrible world they were plunging into, they both softly chuckled in each other's company. The world they had knew for years of their lives may have been crumbling, but there was a new one that just begun not long before the collapse. One that was devoid of all circumstances. One of love.

Nick eventually picked himself up off the heated concrete and assisted Judy in doing the same. They slowly walked through the empty streets and took in their surrounding side by side. Roadside shops and establishments were charred by what was evidently, rioting. Shards of glass lay scattered on the sidewalk, and street. They even walked past an overturned, wolf size car that has lost a wheel in its demise somehow. The city was a mess, an this time there were no clean up crews to magically fix everything back to normal. The innocent people were gone, or dead. The lucky that were to escape the grasp of anarchy, fled to a place outside the city that Nick and Judy had theorized to be a refugee camp like area, while they walked. Street lights still flickered with their usual colors. Nick chuckled at the electricity still being on, only to be interupted of the thought as to why. They walked silently for a while until they arrived at the front door of Nick's apartment.

Slowly opening the locked door, Nick yelled. "Ms Ikeda? You still here? Anyone?" Hoping to draw out any remaining citizens.

"Who's Ms Ikeda?" Judy whispered as Nick opened the glass door further and began his trek inside. She stayed close behind.

"She owned the place. My landlord" Nick said louder into the lobby. The lights remained off, but the natural light from the sun shone in, giving Nick enough to see the room clearly. Once they made it to the middle of the lobby, Nick let his guard down. "Alright, I think we're good."

"Good. Im guessing we should take the stairs then?" She said innocently, as Nick instinctively walked towards the elevator, but without looking back at the clever bunny's advice, he pointed at the stairwell and begun to steer his way towards it. Judy giggled.

"We shouldn't be taking a few street lights being on, as the whole grid being on, your right." He admitted, feeling slightly embarrassed at his mess up. Judy nodded, as he opened the metal door that led to the stairwell. Nick made his way up them with no rush, his legs feeling weaker and weaker with every step. That run had really drained him.

They finally arrived at Nick's floor and opened the second door, leading them into a long, dark hallway. Nick took the lead as he walked in front of Judy towards his apartment door. Judy already knew where it was, since she had been here many times before, but had no reason to contest. She noticed the walls to this hallway looking particularly dreary, compared to her own tiny abode which was far from luxury itself. Thinking of it, she was actually going to help Nick look for a better place that weekend. Guess that plan crashed and burned.

They arrived at his door. Nick searched his pockets for his keys while Judy took a few steps away, waiting for that glorious click of the lock unlatching, and the iconic creek of old wood as it opened. To her surprise, none of that occurred.

"Damnit!" Nick shouted in anger as he pounded his head into the door, his long furry ears moving back to avoid damage. "I left in such a hurry this morning that i forgot my damn keys!" Nick was beyond frustrated. So much so, that he hadn't realised the obvious. Judy opened a small zipped pocket on her utility belt and pulled out a shiny new key. She walked towards the door, Nick's head still leaning on the door with his eyes closed.

"Nick it's okay! You made me a copy of your key, remember?" She said, standing beside him, waving the key in plain sight. Nick opened one eye in surprise to see the beautify key in her fluffy hands.

"Oh! Yeah i forgot about that!" He laughed as he backed away from the door and rubbed his neck in embarrassment. He watched as Judy inserted the key into the door handle, turned it and opened the door open with a shove. It creaked it pleasantly as it opened.

"To think, I was gonna get that fixed" Nick said, regarding the creak that he now adored. Judy walked in first to a dark apartment, light by dim amounts of natural light. The coffee table still had the discarded cup of coffee on it. As Nick walked in behind Judy, who immediately made her way to the bathroom, it reminded Nick of this morning. How much has happened in only seven hours. Nick walked towards the couch and sat in it, feeling his legs ease in pain as the cushion sagged. Judy turned the tap on and begun to wash her paws from dirt and grime, but she could only do so for a few seconds, as the water supply ran short and dry. She groaned. Zootopia was the law of the jungle now. She used a towel to clean up what she could and walked back to the living room.

"Chief Bogo said 9:30 PM is when the main trains leave to evacuate all remaining dispatches, right?" Judy hesitantly said as she took a seat beside Nick.

"Yup. We still have…" He quickly glanced at his clock, which wasn't working, "I'd say maybe 8 hours."

"Good" Judy sighed. "I hope you don't mind if we just stay here until then" She continued, slowly shifting towards Nick, looking to find a good spot to burrow into him.

"I wouldn't dream of contesting" Nick said, smiling at the tired looking bunny. It had been a lot for both of them. "You can take my bed if you want. It's relatively clean and safe, as far as i know."

Judy looked up at Nick, being this generous in his case was rare. He would usually try to pull some move to get her into his bed, which was usually just him joking around, but this was genuine. Despite his injuries, he would rather have Judy sleep, than him get much greater needed rest. There was, of course, a consensus that Judy didn't mind.

"We could always… sleep together?" Judy replied, giving him the most adorable face she could muster with her current energy.

"I was hoping you would say that." Nick smiled back at her in a way that made her feel like all Nick wanted this time, was someone to be with. He wasn't screwing around. No jokes. This meant a lot to both of them.

Nick got up off the couch first, Judy almost falling over at the sudden movement of her pillow. Nick just looked down at her and smiled. He walked over to the door and locked it, three times. This place was trashy, but damn secure. He walked by the couch and down the narrow hallway, taking a left into his bedroom. Judy followed after him. In his room, Nick was in the process of taking off his belt and light body armor. Then proceeding to remove his tie and throw it in a pile with the rest of the equipment. Judy studied him and once he was finished, he motioned towards the empty bed.

"She's all yours Carrots" Nick said playfully. The bed wasn't massive, but it was much larger than what she was used to. Fox sized in fact. She climbed onto the soft mattress and immediately collapsed in relaxation. Nick smiled, and climbed in beside her. Nick positioned himself so that he held her softly, and comfortably for the both of them. He was lost in pure bliss. This was all he had ever really dreamed of. Judy closed her eyes and easily fell asleep in Nick's warm embrace. Nick stayed awake for a little longer, taking in these events. He remembered the dream he had just a few hours ago. The dream, that was eerily similar to this. He knew its purpose now. All he had ever wished for, was to be with Judy. Be with her so comfortably that he could sleep beside her without fear of embarrassment. But deep down he feared that his own issues, his own ignorance would be the end of her. He loved her as if she had traveled the seven seas just to meet him. If he became something else in the pressure of this crisis, it could be the end. The dream was a warning. A warning from his own thoughts telling him to be careful. The next few days, would be treacherous indeed, but the real enemy for Nick, for Judy, could be right inside of himself. Nick suppressed the the thought. He could handle himself. With Judy, anything was possible.

Nick closed his eyes, slowly falling to the grasp of sleep. He hoped for the world he knew to be gone when he woke up. For it all to just be another dream. Although he knew, it was not possible. The pandemic still closed in, and time was running out. He treated this sleep with Judy as if it was his last. Because he knew, it very well could be.

He kissed Judy on the head passionately, "I love you Carrots."

"Sweet dreams"


End file.
